


Like We Used To

by HeartxKang



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Knowhan, M/M, jisung is just whipped for minho okay, kinda slowburn, minsung - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2020-05-16 15:30:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19320982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartxKang/pseuds/HeartxKang
Summary: When Jisung one day runs into Minho, his high school best friend he hasn't seen in six years, he can't really seem to believe it. Minho used to be everything and more to Jisung, his whole world. So much has happened yet Minho has alwas been on Jisung's mind, but can everything really go back to how they once were, when so many years have passed? .or an AU where Jisung falls in love with Minho all over again





	1. Chapter 1

Jisung is late. Again. He wants to blame it on rush hour for not making him move as fast as anticipated, but truthfully he knows it is his own fault for pressing snooze one too many times. It is dangerously easy to reset the alarm for a few minutes of extra sleep, especially when he had been up for way too late the night before, working on his music. Jisung’s job as an assistant to a music producer makes him work unholy long hours, making him have almost no free time. So if he wants to work on his own stuff, he will just have to lose some sleep over it. The downside of it though is that Jisung has trouble getting up in the morning, and results in him now rushing zigzag past the people on the busy street. His boss, Park Jinyoung, or PD-Park as he is also called, will not be happy if Jisung shows up late. Making the boss angry is the last thing Jisung wants right now, he has done that mistake before, and lets just say it was not a pleasant time. 

 

As Jisung is running down the street, he feels his phone buzz in his pocket. This is not the time to pick up a call, but it might be the company. Without stopping Jisung pulls out his phone from his pocket, but before he is able to check who it is, Jisung crashes into something, or more likely someone. He falls to the ground, trying to catch himself with his left hand, as his phone slides out of his grip. Shit.

“Are you okay?” a soft voice behind him says. 

“Yes, I’m so sorry” Jisung says as he carefully stands up, picking up his phone. His hand stings, but he ignores it and turns around to see who it was he ran into. The face his eyes meet belongs to the last person Jisung ever thought he would see. Jisung’s body freezes, unable to say a word. 

“Jisung?” the boy in front of him gasps. 

“M-Minho?” Jisung stutters. It sure is Minho. The boy Jisung spent his high school years with. The boy Jisung considered his best friend for life. The boy Jisung had not seen for almost six years. Minho looked the same, yet he looked so different. His hair was now light brown instead of black, and he looked like a proper adult, muscular shoulders and legs, not at all like the skinny kid he once was. His eyes were the same though, the same brown colour that shimmered in the sunlight, and his smile was just like Jisung remembered. Pure and contagious. 

“It has been so long!” Minho smiles, and Jisung can not help but smile as well. It really has been so long, six years to be exact. Jisung had not seen Minho since he moved abroad, to Toronto for university and they had not had any contact since then. 

“I didn’t know you were back” Jisung says. He is surprised to say the least, and the emotions inside of him hits all at the same time, not quite sure how he feels about the situation. 

“I came back about two months ago” Minho responds. The air around them is awkward, there is no point in trying to deny it. Neither of them seem to know how to react to the situation. This shallow small talk is just weird, considering how close they once were. Jisung is uncomfortable, even though he tries his best not to show it. How does one approach someone who once was such a huge part of one’s life, but then disappeared and never came back? Well, not until six years later. Thankfully Jisung’s phone start to buzz, saving them from the awkwardness. A quick look on the phone reveals that it is Chan calling, his co-worker, and Jisung’s face wrinkles up. This is not good, and stress flows over Jisung.  He is late for work, and he need to get moving now, or his conversation with the boss is not going to be fun.

“I really have to go, I’m late” Jisung says to Minho, who definitely noticed that the call was not something good. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh, yes of course, you look like you’re in a hurry” Minho nods. “But can we maybe meet up later? It’s been so long and I would really like to catch up.” 

“Yes, sure” Jisung says without hesitation. When Minho moved Jisung missed him so much, and he actually had been wondering what Minho was up to nowadays. Minho hands over a business card to Jisung. A quick look at the card reveals that Minho’s title apparently is financial advisor. The boy sure has grown up. 

“Call me when you get off work.”

“Okay” Jisung smiles, and a few seconds later he is running down the street again. 

 

It is with heavy breaths Jisung stumbles into Chan’s work room. The older colleague is sitting by his laptop.

“You’re late” Chan says without looking up. 

“Yes, I know” Jisung says flustered as he sits down in the chair next to Chan. “But not by that much, only ten minutes.” 

“Just be glad Mr. Park hasn’t asked for you yet.” Chan mutters. Chan’s work ethic is admirable, he comes in early and leaves late. Always focusing on the task in front of him, not letting himself get distracted. Maybe that is why he was able to get the main producer title only after being at the company for a year. 

“I actually have a good reason today” Jisung defends himself. He just wants to talk to Chan like a friend and about how exciting it was to see Minho again. “I ran into my old high school friend on my way here.”

Chan still does not look up from the screen, but he his eyebrows are raised. He does not look amused. 

“You saw your friend on the street and decided to stop and talk with him? How is that a good excuse?”

“No, I  _ ran  _ into him, like we collided and I fell to the ground.” Jisung sighs and waves his scratched hand as evidence. Why is Chan always being so serious? “And I haven’t seen him i six years, what a coincidence, right?”

The explanation makes Chan stop working, he actually seems interested now. That’s more like it, Jisung smiles for himself.

“What, really?” Chan asks, not seeming to quite believe it. It is not really an everyday thing to do. 

“I know, it’s crazy” Jisung says. “I’m meeting up with him after work.”

A knock on the door and Jimin, one of the managers at the company sticks in her head. 

“Jisung, Mr. Park is asking for you.” 

Jisung nods and stands up. 

“Duties are calling, talk to you later.” He says to Chan, who hums a response since he already has gone back to typing on his laptop. 

 

The day goes by way too slowly. Nothing special happens, just the normal duties. When accepting the job Jisung thought he would be working alongside the producers, helping them in their work. Stuff like helping out in the studio, making sure everything is in order for the artists to record, helping the producers coming up with new tracks and beats, writing lyrics, sitting in meetings with artists. Basically the stuff he went for school to do. Four years he spent at university, only to end up at a job that was not really what he expected. The reality is that even though Jisung get to do the stuff he thought he would be doing, he is also the one that is ordered to go on coffee runs, has to write weekly reports on progress of projects, set up the meeting rooms when they are having a meeting, and just other boring things. In that way Jisung is jealous of Chan who actually gets to make his music for others under his name, and even though Jisung knows Chan also started out as a producer’s assistant, he wishes he was a main producer. That is his dream after all. Jisung actually did not expect to get a producing job right after he graduated, especially not at a big company, because that is almost impossible. So when Jisung received the offer for the producer’s assistant position at a respectably well known company he accepted right away. It was the best way to be able to climb the ladder to a promotion in the future, and besides this way he was able to make a lot of contacts. Actually Jisung likes his job, he is always busy, which is just the way he likes it. It is just that some days the tasks are not as much fun as other, like this day. Jisung feels like he spends the whole day just waiting for the clock to become 6pm so he can leave. He has gone for two coffee runs before midday, and is ordered to send out updates about projects via email to the companies of artists they are working with. And perhaps Jisung may be a bit distracted by the thought of meeting up with a certain boy. What were the odds of running into Minho like that? Out of the blue? It had been so long without them talking, and without Jisung actually thinking he would ever hear from him again, even less so see him again. It is with mixed feelings, and Jisung is happy to finally meet Minho again, but still there is something bothering him that he can not quite put his finger on. 

 

_ “Hey, that’s mine!” Jisung squealed as Minho stole some gummies out of the bag in Jisung’s hand.  _

_ “So?” Minho teased and threw the candy into his mouth. They had gone for a run to the convenience store during their lunch break, and were now sitting on one of the benches in the school yard. The lunch that the school offered had not really been up their alley, so they resorted to the better alternative to being hungry all day. The fact that Minho was a senior and Jisung only a sophomore did not at all affect their friendship. Two years could be a big difference in that age, but not for them. During school hours they hung out whenever they had lunch break at the same time, and after school they almost always ended up at either of their houses or a cafe, or where ever they felt like that day. _

_ “Why didn’t you get your own if you wanted some?” Jisung whined. It was alway like this; Minho stealing Jisung’s food, even though Minho had his own.  _

_ “Because I knew you were gonna be kind and share yours” Minho smiled and ruffled Jisung’s hair with his hand. The response from Jisung came in a slap on the olders arm.  _

_ “You are so annoying” Jisung muttered but could not hold back the grin that spread across his face. Jisung always felt happy hanging out with Minho. It made him feel warm inside, and whenever he was upset, Minho was the first one he would reach out to. Minho all of a sudden changed position from sitting next to Jisung, to place his head in Jisung’s lap and spreading out his body over the bench. Jisung looked at Minho, eyebrows raised. _

_ “I’m tired, okay?” Minho defended himself, shooting off a smile. “I just wanted to lay down.” _

_ “I didn’t say anything.” Jisung simply said, because technically he did not. _

_ “I saw the look on your face” Minho said and Jisung broke out in a light laugh. Minho knew him way too well.  _

_ “Give me some gummies” Minho demanded, and opened his mouth wide. Jisung sighed, but put two of his candies in Minho’s mouth, who proceeded to chew, satisfied. In that moment Jisung was out of nowhere overwhelmed with how pretty Minho was. Long eyelashes and eyes that shimmered in the sunlight. He was dressed in an horrendous school uniform, but Minho somehow made it look attractive. Jisung just could not take his eyes off the boy.  _

_ “Hey, why are you staring at me?” Minho abrupted Jisung’s daydreaming.  _

_ “Nothing” Jisung said a bit to fast and immediately took his eyes off Minho and stared out into the school yard instead. Embarrassed Jisung felt his cheeks heat up as he tried to play it off like nothing.  _

_ “Dork” Minho giggled. “But it’s okay, I still like you.” _


	2. Chapter 2

Finally Jisung is let go for the day. He has the luck on his side today, he actually got off 15 minutes early. Out of the pocket of his hoodie he pulls out the business card Minho had given him that same morning. Nervously Jisung press in the numbers, but hesitates just as he is about to press call. It has been so long since Minho was a part of his life. Jisung remembers the first years without him, he missed Minho like crazy. Whenever something happened, good or bad Minho was the first person Jisung wanted to tell, but he could not do that anymore. It took years for Jisung to get over the fact that Minho was not a part of his life anymore, but eventually Minho stopped taking up Jisung’s everyday thoughts. Sure, he appeared every now and then, but as time went it happened less and less. Now Minho was all of a sudden back, but does that mean Jisung should let him back into his life? Yes, it does. After all Minho had such a huge part back then, he was a good source of Jisung’s happiness in his teenage years, so why would Minho not be apart of the start of his adulthood? Jisung shakes his head lightly, before pressing call and holds up the phone to his ear. 

 

“Hello?” Minho’s voice on the other side says. 

“Hello, it’s Jisung” Jisung says, praying that Minho can not hear the nervousness in his voice.

“Oh hi Jisung, what are you up to?” Minho’s voice sounds happy, and Jisung can not help but smile. It is a good sign.

“Just got off work” Jisung answers. “So I’m free if you still want to meet up?”

“Of course!” Minho says cheerfully and Jisung’s smile grows even wider. “I know this café that makes amazing coffee, and their cakes are delicious. Shall I text you the address?” 

“Sounds great” Jisung answers and they hang up. He presses his phone against his chest and smiles big, until a minute later Jisung’s phone buzzes with the text from Minho. 

 

The place Jisung is sent to is on a sidestreet of a busy main street. A bell makes a small sound as Jisung opens the door and the scent of freshly baked bread hits him in the face. The interior is white walls with chairs and tables in light coloured wood and plants in the windows. It only takes a few seconds for Jisung to spot Minho in the back of the café, and the older raises his hand to wave. Jisung walks over to Minho, trying his best to suppress the odd feeling of nervosity in his stomach. He knows that it is normal to be nervous in this type of situation, but he really does not want Minho to notice it. 

“Hi” Minho is the first to say something as Jisung pulls out the chair on the opposite side of the older. On the table there is two tall glasses of iced coffee, and two pieces of cake. 

“Hello” Jisung says. There is already tension in the air, and Jisung asks himself why it is like this, even though he is well aware of the answer to that question. 

“I ordered you a coffee” Minho nods at the glass on the table. “Decaf, because if I remember right you get jittery of too much caffeine too late in the day.”

Jisung looks up at Minho, and he can not help but smile. Minho really remembered that small detail, one that even Jisung himself forgets about sometimes. Even if Jisung’s caffeine tolerance is better nowadays, he still avoids caffeine in the afternoon if possible. As he already is a quite speeded person, he has enough energy to take him through the day without help. Caffeine too late in the day also leads to trouble falling asleep, which is not that fun when he already does not get enough hours in bed. 

“Oh, yeah, that’s right” Jisung smiles, and the changes his focus to the cake on the table to keep the conversation going. “Is that cheesecake?”

“Yes” Minho laughs softly. “Strawberry, what you used to order when we went to that place after school to study. Not that we actually studied that much but yeah.”

Jisung can not actually believe this. Is this actually happening? How does Minho remember all of this? Jisung is touched, and he feels the warmness spread in his body. The same type of warmness Minho always manage to make him feel. Apparently is does not matter if it has been years since it last happened, it still comes just as easily. 

“Wow, I can’t believe you remember that.” Jisung looks at Minho with big eyes, impressed. Minho giggles, and even though it feels like a terrible response from Jisung’s side, seeing and hearing Minho laugh Jisung realises how much he has missed it. 

“So what have you been up to?” Jisung asks, he is dying of curiosity and Minho starts telling Jisung everything about his life the past six years. 

 

Minho tells Jisung about how the past six years he lived in Toronto, where he studied business at university for the first four years. The other two years he worked for a bit to build up his resume, and actually did not have plans to return back to Korea. Minho’s parents actually decided to move to Canada as well during Minho’s second year at university, so he did not really have much dragging him back. Then one day he came over a job opening through his old roommate from school, Woojin, who also happened to be Korean and moved back right after graduation. Woojin has a job at a business company and recommended Minho to apply for the job as a financial advisor there. Minho followed his advice, and to his surprise actually got the position. So then, two months later Minho came back to his home country again, even though he had no plans on it from the beginning. Now he lives alone in a one-bedroom apartment downtown. 

“Do you miss Canada?” Jisung asks and takes a sip of his coffee. 

“Yes, and no.” Minho laughs softly. “I feel like I’m at home here in Korea, but I miss my parents sometimes and my cats of course.” 

“You still have Soonie and Doongie?” Jisung asks, surprised. He can remember Minho’s cats from back in the days. They were like Minho’s childs, and whenever Jisung hung out at Minho’s the older’s attention was on the cats instead of Jisung. 

“Yes!” Seeing Minho talk about his cats could make anyone understand how much he adores them. His eyes light up and he smiles wide. Minho even pick up his phone to show Jisung pictures of the cats. “They are getting a bit old now, but I also adopted a new one; Dori.” 

 

Throughout the whole conversation Jisung has been listening interested, without losing focus. Normally Jisung has a hard time focusing for a longer period of time, except when it comes to things he is deeply interested in, like producing music and writing lyrics. Apparently now Minho can be added to the list. This Minho is so different, yet at the same time just like Jisung remembered him. Jisung can not help but think how grown up Minho has become, and how he puts on the role as a man in his early twenties perfectly. He has worked hard for a good degree, which lead to a good job. With age Minho has not lost his wit and teasing comments that comes every now and then. His sparkling eyes are the same and the light laugh makes Jisung smile like always. It does not matter that the school uniform has now changed into a classy suit and the hairstyle is a neat and short one, instead of a bit longer with bangs that fall over his eyes. It is still Minho.

“What about you?” Minho asks after rambling on about his cats for ten minutes. “Tell me about you?”

Jisung starts his story from where Minho left, where Jisung finally realised what university he wanted to go to and what he wanted to study. He had two years left in high school, so he decided to work hard on his grades to get accepted to his dream school. Jisung talks about university where he majored in music production and became close friends with Changbin, a boy in the year above him and now is his roommate since neither of them could afford rent on their own. More things Jisung mentions is that he got a job right after school at a big company, and that it is hard work, but it is going to pay off in the end. Minho comments the story with a few nods, “oh”s and laughs were fitted in between Jisung’s sentences. Even though Jisung talks for quite a while, after all six years is a long time, there are a lot of things he leaves out on purpose. Jisung does not mention that the reason he studied so hard the last years of high school was that he did not have a lot of friends. Minho used to take up all his time, and when he left there became a huge gap that needed to be filled. There is no talk about how Jisung cried himself to sleep for weeks because being away from MInho hurted so much. Jisung also does not mention that when he got the acception letter from the university he was over the moon and actually picked up his phone to call Minho, but realised that was not possible, and the happiness was not as much anymore. They are things that if brought up, they will bring down the mood, and that is definitely not something Jisung wants at the moment. They might also make Minho feel bad, which then would make Jisung feel bad for making Minho sad, and that is a whole bad circle. But what Jisung also keeps from Minho is Yeji. Yeji was Jisung’s first real girlfriend that he met during his second year at university. She was a law major and is still to this day the prettiest girl Jisung has ever seen. They were together for two years, until they mutually decided to end things. It was not a bad breakup, it was just that they both decided to move on and just be friends, which they still are. Jisung loves Yeji, and would do anything for her, but in the way where she is like a sister to him. Jisung does not know why he purposely decides to keep her out of the story. He is not ashamed over the relationship he had with Yeji, and it is something that is a huge part of what has formed Jisung into the person he is today, yet he does not talk about it with Minho. Jisung does not really understand why, but it just does not feel right to talk about her, at least not now. 

 

They sit in the cafe for several hours until it becomes dark outside. It is like they both have forgotten like time exists and the only thing that matters is them and their conversation. It is not until Jisung’s phone buzzes for the second time in a row that they are brought back to reality. Jisung smiles apologetic to Minho and answers the call.

“Hey, are you on your way home?” Changbin says through the phone and Jisung sighs. 

“Why do you care?” Jisung sighs annoyed, but not annoyed enough to make Minho notice it. There is definitely going to be a favor asked.

“Because it is late” Changbin carefully starts. “Aaaaand I might be hungry, so I wanna ask if you can pick up some food from that chinese place down the block?” 

A deep sigh leaves Jisung’s lips, he knew it. He does not actually want to leave the cafe and Minho, but a quick look at the time reveals that he probably should. Besides, he was planning to finish up some lyrics tonight he has not had the time to work on the previous days. 

“Yeah okay” Jisung gives in and hangs up just as Changbin starts showering him with loving word about how Jisung is the best friend in the world. 

 

Minho and Jisung both decide that it is late and that they should go home. Minho offers to walk Jisung home, but Jisung insists it is okay. Deep down he actually wants to say yes, just to spend more time with Minho, but he does not want to drag Minho along to get Changbin food. Instead they decide on staying in touch and meet up again soon. 

 

As soon as Jisung unlocks the door the apartment, Changbin comes running to greet him, or more likely to greet the plastic bag in Jisung’s hand. 

“Nice!” Changbin’s eyes grows wide at the sight of the food, and Jisung shakes his slightly. Changbin has already set up cutlery on the table, so it is just for the two boys to dig in. They do not say much, they are too busy stuffing their faces. It is not until they have finished the food Changbin finally asks the question Jisung has been waiting for. 

“Why are you home so late? A lot at work?” 

“No, actually not” Jisung says. “I met up with an old friend for coffee.”

Changbin hums and to Jisung’s disappointment he does not ask any follow up questions. He is dying to talk about Minho, he wants to tell everyone about the brown haired boy he has missed so much. 

“Are you not interested in who it was?” Jisung asks, taking the matter into his own hands. 

“Hyunjin?” Changbin suggests without much enthusiasm while scrolling through his phone. 

“Nope” Jisung says. “Minho.” 

“Minho? That Minho?!” Changbin looks up at Jisung, clearly surprised. Changbin knows all about Jisung’s past with Minho. One day during freshman year Jisung had a bit too much to drink and spilled his heart out to Changbin about missing Minho, even though it had been almost three years since he left. 

“Yes, that Minho” Jisung laughs and tells Changbin all about his wild day.

 

_ Jisung spotted Minho right away when he stepped into the café. He was sitting in their usual corner with his textbooks open in front of him.  _

_ “Hello” Jisung sat down on the seat opposite of Minho.  _

_ “Hi” Minho gave Jisung a quick look before diving into the books again.  _

_ “I guess you haven’t ordered?” Jisung figured at the sight of lack of coffee on the table.  _

_ “No, not yet” Minho answered, clearly not having his focus in the conversation. Without saying anything Jisung stood up and went over to the counter to order. Two iced lattes and two strawberry cheesecakes, their usual. It was what they always had, except when they decided to spice things up with a warm coffee or chocolate cake. When Jisung came back to the table with their order, Minho finally looked up and that hint of sparkle in his eyes brushed by. That was more like it.  _

_ “Can you maybe make some room?” Jisung asked, looking at the table covered in schoolwork. Quickly Minho put away a few books so Jisung could put down the tray. As soon as the tray hit the table Minho snatched his coffee and took a big sip and let out a satisfied sigh.  _

_ “Thanks Hannie” Minho said and directed his eyes back to his book. Jisung could not help but smile at Minho. Everytime he used the nickname ‘Hannie’ it made Jisung smile. It was a name that only Minho ever called Jisung, coming from the younger boy’s family name Han. The nickname had stuck around since they first got to know each other and it was something that Jisung held very dearly to him. _

_ “What with all this studying?” Jisung took a bite of his cake. They always said they would go and study at the cafe, but it never was very much studying going on. Seeing Minho study that hard was not within the ordinary.  _

_ “I have exams coming up” Minho answered simply, which only confused Jisung even more. It would have been a good excuse if they had been of the studious types, but they were not.  _

_ “Is something wrong?” Jisung asked. He was actually getting concerned now.  _

_ “No” Minho sighed and looked up at Jisung. “It is just that I am a senior now and I have to study to get into university.”  _

_ That made sense, sort of. Jisung knew that Minho felt a lot of pressure from his parents to get into a good school. Minho’s mum was a lawyer and his dad had some high up position in a company, and they both wanted their son to follow their path of success. At the same time it was not something that had stopped Minho from joking around with Jisung and forgetting the whole purpose of them meeting up at the café. Minho was smart, so he always did well in school, but it made sense that he needed even better grades. The thing was just that with Minho not paying his attention towards Jisung, Jisung quickly became bored. After he had finished both his cake and coffee, he took out his phone to play a game, but it was not fun at all. Whenever Jisung was bored he started moving around to pass time, he got up and got some water and then he started tapping his fingers against the table in the beat of the song he was working on at the time.  _

_ “Hannie, can you please sit still?” Minho sighed.  _

_ “I’m bored” Jisung answered simply, but stopped tapping. _

_ “Maybe you should study?” Minho suggested without much empathy. _

_ “ I didn’t bring my books” Jisung explained, and picked up his phone to try playing the game again to pass time.  _

_ “You didn’t bring your books to a study date?” Minho looked up at Jisung, eyebrows raised, before sighing deeply. “I can’t believe you.” _

_ “It’s not like we usually study!” Jisung tried to defend himself, which only made Minho sigh again.  _

_ “Give me fifteen more minutes, and them I’m all yours” Minho gave in and with that Jisung was satisfied. He got what he wanted: Minho’s attention. _


	3. Chapter 3

Just as Jisung walks through the glass doors of the big company building, his phone buzzes. It is a text from Hyunjin reminding him about the birthday dinner they are having for Seungmin the upcoming weekend. Quickly Jisung responds with something along the lines with that he has not forgotten about it. It is a lie, Jisung has totally forgotten about that dinner. Which Hyunjin probably knows, hence the text to remind Jisung, but not that Jisung is going to admit that. Both Hyunjin and Seungmin are Jisung’s friends from High School. They were in the same class, and when Minho left the country, Hyunjin and Seungmin became Jisung’s new company. Actually Jisung even went to middle school with Seungmin, but they did not really hang out back then. Later on during university Hyunjin became friends with a freckled boy named Felix, who then became a part of their friend group as well.  The boys are still very good friends and hang out on a regular basis, like now, for Seungmin’s birthday. The problem is that Seungmin’s boyfriend Jeongin takes birthdays pretty seriously, so Jisung definitely need to get a good gift. A groan leaves Jisung’s mouth at that realisation, and he figures he will just have to take care of that after work.  

 

Work today had so far been pretty good. Jisung had the opportunity to do some work revolving music and by mid-afternoon he had only gone for one coffee run, for a meeting he was allowed to attend. As Jisung is cleaning up after the meeting his phone rings. Jisung’s heart jumps and then a smile spreads on his lips as he sees the caller ID. It is Minho. It has been a few days since they saw each other at the café, but they have been texting a bit back and forth since then. 

“Hello” Jisung picks up the call.

“Hi Jisung” Minho’s voice on the other side says. “What are you up to?”

“I’m just at work” Jisung answers, and takes a sip of the little coffee he has left. “And you?”

“Oh, I was just thinking about you” Minho casually says, and for Jisung who did not see that coming, chokes on his coffee. Jisung starts coughing uncontrollably, hitting his chest to get himself under control again. 

“You okay?” Minho giggles through the phone.

“Yes” Jisung manages to get out, between coughs and trying to catch his breath. 

“I was just calling to ask you if you want to do something this evening?” Minho continues the conversation.

“Yes!” Jisung answers without hesitation. He had actually been contemplating asking Minho to meet up again sometime soon. He had so much fun the first time and would not mind do it again especially not if it meant Jisung was getting his long lost best friend back. Then the realisation hit that Jisung actually is busy that evening, he has to go and get Seungmin a birthday gift or Jeongin would kill him. 

“Shit, I can’t” Jisung says, disappointed. “I have to go shopping for a birthday gift after work today.”

“Oh.”

“I’m sorry.” Jisung wants to say that he can go shopping some other day, but he knows that if he do, he will actually never get to it. 

“No, it’s okay” Minho says. Neither of them say anything for a short while, simply because Jisung does not really knows what to say. 

“What if I come with you?” Minho finally breaks the awkward silence. 

“You want to come with me shopping?” Jisung says a bit surprised, it is not a possible outcome he could have thought of by himself, but he likes the idea. “Sure!”

“Great, I’ll call you later” Minho says, and Jisung can almost hear the smile on his lips through the phone. They hang up and Jiung goes back to tidying up the conference room, but this time he has a smile plastered over his face and he can not wait to get off work so he can meet up with Minho. 

 

As promised Minho calls Jisung that evening and they decide to meet up on one of the smaller, less busy shopping streets in town. The second Jisung sees Minho he raised his hand and waves at him. Today Minho is dressed in black jeans and a purple hoodie, quite the contrast from the suit last time, but he still looks just as good. 

“Hello” Minho smiles at Jisung and the younger feel his stomach jump, but ignores it and smiles back. They start walking down the street and go in to a retro store with old school music blasting through the speakers. 

“So who’s birthday is it?” Minho asks as they walk along the racks of clothes.

“Seungmin” Jisung answers. “I don’t know if you remember him, but he was in my class in high school.”

Minho takes a few seconds to think, but then shakes his head lightly.

“I remember the name, but I can’t place him.” 

“It’s okay” Jisung say and holds up a sweater, but sighs and put it back. What on earth is he going to give Seungmin? “His boyfriend is going to kill me if I don’t bring a good gift.”

“The pressure” Minho laughs lightly, and Jisung groans. “What does Seungmin like then?”

“I don’t know” Jisung sighs. “Photography and puppies I guess.”

Gift giving has never really been one of Jisung’s best qualities. Either he goes overboard or he just does not know what to get. The worst part of it all though is that the receiver might not at all like the gift he gives, and that would make Jisung feel like the worst friend ever. With Jeongin being very petty about his boyfriend’s gift, it makes it even worse. So Minho is right, there is a lot of pressure on this gift. 

“That’s a start!” Minho says enthusiastically. He actually seems really excited about this and Jisung can not really understand why, but Minho being happy feels good to see. Minho stays quiet for a minute, before he lights up and grabs Jisung’s arm to drag him out from the store while saying: “I know where to go!”

 

Minho drags Jisung along with him through the street to an independent bookstore on a side street from the main street they were on at first. The store is bigger than it looked from outside, with shelves up to the ceiling separating the aisles and only a handful of people browsing around. The mood over the place is calm and people talk with lowered voices. 

“I can’t believe this place is still here” Minho whispers to Jisung and drags him into an aisle. Minho still has not let go of Jisung’s arm, and he can feel his arm burning from Minho’s touch, even though he holds him loosely. 

“I haven’t been here before” Jisung says back. He actually did not even know the place existed, it is not anything Minho had ever told him about. He is a bit confused, since this is not a side of Minho that he is used to seeing.

“I used to come here with my mom when I was little” Minho simply explains. He then lets go of Jisung’s arm and start searching through the bookshelf in front of them for something. Jisung stays quiet by Minho’s side and lets the boy search for whatever it might be he is looking for. It takes a couple of minutes, but then Minho bursts out:

“Ah here it is!”

Minho picks up a large book and hands it over to Jisung. It is a collection with famous photographs and Jisung carefully flips through the pages. The pages feel thick between his fingers and gives off a luxurious vibe. He knows it is something Seungmin will love, and definitely something Jeongin will approve of. 

“This is perfect” Jisung says excitedly and looks up at Minho with a big smile. “How did you even know about this?”

“Good” Minho smiles back. “I had a roommate for a while at university that was a photography major and always talked about photographs in this book. He always had some photo to show me, quite annoying really but it came in handy today.”

“It sure did” Jisung laughs, feeling thankful for that annoying roommate, but mostly for Minho saving Jisung both time and humiliation.

 

Jisung pays for the book, and it is a bit pricey, but totally worth it. The two boys then decide to go somewhere for dinner, since they both are starting to get hungry. The choice of restaurant falls on a ramen place down the street. Jisung loves ramen, and he remember Minho used to too, so it is a perfect fit. As they wait for their food they talk about just about anything. It feels like they have known each other for ages, and not at all like the past six years were spent apart. It is odd, but Jisung feels just as comfortable around Minho as he once used to, and he is pretty sure Minho feels the same way. They both laugh and the conversation just keeps on going and if it would ever become quiet, it is not an awkward kind of quiet, but rather a comfortable one. Jisung just really enjoys the company Minho gives. It makes him feel warm from the inside out and the smile he has had on this face the whole evening never seems to go away. It has been a while since he last felt like this, sure Changbin is his best friend but it does not feel this way to hang out with him. With him it is laughter and deep conversations about life, not warmth and just the pure happiness of just being. It is the same type of feeling that Jisung felt when he used to hang out with Minho all those years ago, and it is not until now that he realises it is not only Minho he has missed, but also this type of feeling that Minho gives him that has been gone for way too long. 

 

Minho is kind enough to pay for the food, even though Jisung offers to. Well, truthfully speaking Jisung does not even get the chance to offer to pay because Minho takes care of it as Jisung is in the restroom. Not that Jisung really minds, free food is the best food. Minho even offers to walk Jisung home, and that is not either something that Jisung minds the slightest. They walk a bit slower that Jisung’s normal pace, side by side. The air is a bit chilly since the sun has gone down, fall has completely taken over the city.

“You need to dress properly” Minho teases as he sees Jisung pull down the sleeves of his sweater and cross his arms over his chest in a hopeless attempt to stay warm. “It is not summer anymore you know.”

“It is not that cold” Jisung lies, well knowing that Minho does not believe him. 

“I would offer you my coat, but it is freezing and I’m cold too so I won’t” Minho continue to tease. 

“You’re not much of a gentleman” Jisung teases back and to that Minho laughs and push Jisung friendly in the side. 

“Just bring a coat next time” Minho’s tone has gone from the higher pitch it gets when he teases Jisung, to a softer one. Like he is genuinely concerned over Jisung being cold. “I don’t want you to get sick.”

“It’s okay” Jisung smiles, and points to a apartment complex a couple of hundred meters up the street. “I live over there!” 

The boys stop in front of the door to the building to say their goodbyes for the evening. 

“Thank you for the meal” Jisung says and flashes off a smile. “And thank you for helping me find a gift for Seungmin.”

“No problem” Minho answers. “I hope he likes it!”

They stop in front of the building and for the first time that evening the air becomes quiet. Jisung is not sure if he should hug Minho goodbye or not. He would like to, but he is not sure how Minho would react to that, so Jisung decides not to. 

“Well, I should go inside” Jisung says, eve though he does not actually want to leave Minho. “Bye!”

“Bye” Minho raises his hand in an awkward wave. 

“I’ll text you” Jisung say just as he opens the door and Minho nods. Jisung hears the door behind him close as he start walking up the stairs, and he realises he forgot to say something to Minho. Quickly he pulls out his phone and sends a text to the other boy, saying that he hopes Minho gets home safely. About 20 minutes later Minho replies that he is home and adds a “thanks for tonight”. It makes the warmth in Jisung’s stomach flame up again, and it stays like that until he lays his head on his pillow and falls asleep. 

 

_ The first person to greet Jisung when he arrived to school on his 15th birthday was Minho, because who else would it have been? The older boy was holding his hands behind his back, clearly trying to hide something. Jisung knew it was a birthday present and pointed it out before Minho even had the chance to speak. _

_ “If you’re gonna be greedy I won’t give it to you” Minho teased, keeping his hands behind his back.  _

_ “Okay, I’m sorry” Jisung pouted back, but could not hold his poker face for long.  _

_ “Happy birthday Hannie” Minho took a step forward, pulling out his hands from behind his back holding a nicely wrapped gift. Jisung took the gift and teared the paper open.  _

_ “Be careful!” Minho said, stressed over the violence from Jisung’s side.  _

_ “Sorry” Jisung removed the last bit of wrapping paper to reveal a framed picture of no one other than Minho. Baffled Jisung looked at the picture, than at Minho, and then back at the picture.  _

_ “It’s a picture of you?” Jisung said, a bit confused over the gift. _

_ “Yes, that way I will always be with you” Minho explained and giggled. “And besides I look really good in that pic.” _

_ The first reason behind the gift made Jisung smile, and the second resulted in Minho receiving a light beating. Truthfully Jisung actually loved the gift, not that he would ever tell Minho that straight to his face. Several times during the day Jisung picked up the picture from his backpack to have a look at it. It was a very good picture of Minho, it would be a lie to state otherwise. It was shot during a summer day with the sun making Minho’s black hair shine, and his smile was so bright it reached his eyes. It was the type of picture one just became happy to look at. When Jisung then later got home that evening he cleared out a spot in his bookshelf in front of his bed for the framed picture. In that way, Minho could be the first thing he would see before he fell asleep, and the first thing he would see when he woke up. In other words, it would make Jisung fall asleep with a smile on his lips, as well as wake up with one.  _


	4. Chapter 4

Jisung is the last one to arrive to the barbeque restaurant, where they are celebrating Seungmin. He is not late, well at least not that late, but the others do not even comment on it. They are not the slightest surprised, it is just a part of the ordinary. The first thing Jisung does when he arrives to the table is to proudly hand over the gift to Seungmin. Jeongin raises his eyebrows towards Jisung and Jisung just shrugs back, before taking his place next to Hyunjin. 

“Well everyone is here, so should we order?” Seungmin says and everyone agrees by nodding. The waiter is called over and they order several different kinds of meat and vegetables, as well as beer and soju. 

“Open the gifts” Felix’s says and hands over his and Hyunjin’s gift. The two of them has gone behind Jisung’s back to get something for Seungmin together and Jisung gives them both a dark look. They could at least have asked if Jisung wanted to be a part of it, not that it really matters anymore since Jisung knows that his own gift is a good one. Seungmin carefully unwraps the present to find a pair of white sneakers, the kind that he has been talking about. By the way Seungmin’s face lights up and the little squeal of joy everyone at the table knows the gift has gone home. 

“Wow thank you guys!” Seungmin says and smiles brightly. Now Jisung is not too sure about his gift anymore and he twists awkwardly in his chair. He really hates gift giving, especially when everyone else is good at it. “Let’s open Jisung’s.”

Nervously Jisung watch Seungmin unwrap the paper and when the boy sees the book his eyes widen. Without saying a word he starts flipping through it, carefully and slowly. The reaction is not what Jisung expected, but he can not tell if Seungmin likes it or not. 

“Do you like it?” Jisung quietly asks as he squints his eyes, not really daring to look at Seungmin. 

“I love it!” Seungmin says and smiles wide towards Jisung. “It is so pretty, and I’ve been looking for this book for ages! Thank you Jisung!”

Jisung finally feel like he can breathe again, and by the way Jeongin also smiles, Jisung figures he will live to see another day. 

“Actually Minho helped me pick it out” Jisung says casually, like he the fact that he was nervous out of his mind a few minutes ago did not happen. Also like it is completely normal to talk about Minho, and that he is in their everyday conversations. Hyunjin and Seungmin freezes and looks towards Jisung as they hear Minho’s name. 

“What?” Jisung says unbothered by the fact that he just dropped a huge bomb, or maybe he is just enjoying the situation. 

“Do you mean the Minho I think you mean?” Hyunjin asks. 

“If you mean Minho from high school then yes.”

“The one that broke your heart?” Seungmin says, still not taking his eyes off Jisung. 

“He did not break my heart!” Jisung defends himself, raising his hands. To that Hyunjin and Seungmin just raises their eyebrows, not at all believing him. Sure Jisung was sad when Minho left, but he was not heartbroken. Hyunjin and Seungmin was always exaggerating about how sad Jisung had been when Minho had left. 

“Excuse me, but who on earth is Minho?” Jeongin sticks in, with an agreeing from Felix. Because Hyunjin and Seungmin had been Jisung’s friends back in high school they had been along for the ride of Minho disappearing out of Jisung’s life, which Jeongin and Felix had not. Since Minho was a topic the boys almost never talked about, it was understandable why Felix and Jeongin are lost.

“He was my best friend in high school, but then he moved to Canada” Jisung simply explains, because that is what happened. At least in the easy version of the story. 

“He was Jisung’s first love” Hyunjin ads and Jisung immediately gives him the second dark look of the evening, because that is not true.

“And he broke Jisung’s heart when he left” Seungmin brings up again. What is it with them tonight? Jisung takes a deep breath, he is starting to get annoyed. It is one thing for Seungmin and Hyunjin to exaggerate the situation when it is just the three of them, but when there are people in the group that has never heard of the story, it is not the time to make things a bigger deal than it is. Jeongin and Felix might get the wrong idea.

“First of all; he did not break my heart” Jisung has to defend himself again. “And secondly; he was not my first love. Yeji was.” 

Hyunjin and Seungmin look at each other with a look that Jisung is not sure how to interpret, so he just ignores it. 

“Whatever you say” Hyunjin sighs and they drop the subject, but Jisung still feels a bit bothered about Hyunjin’s and Seungmin’s way of looking at the situation that happened back then. He just can not really understand what makes them think Minho was his first love, or that the sadness over losing his best friend was the sorrow of heartbreak. It just never was on that intense level, or that is what Jisung tells himself.

 

As they finish eating, the boys are on their third order of drinks. Since Jisung is quite small, he is a light drinker, even though he thinks he can take more than he actually can. He is starting to get a bit tipsy but so far he is fine. The others seem fine as well and the night have so far been very pleasant. They laugh a lot and the mood is good, and maybe it is a bit too good. So good that Jisung feels the need to share all the love he has for his friends, because he really appreciates them. 

“Guys, I have something to tell you” Jisung leans in towards the table, and the rest follow. “I really like you, you are so good friends. I love you guys.”

“Here we go again” Felix sighs and leans back in his seat. “You always say that when you drink.”

“But I mean it!” Jisung protests, because he does. Sure, he might be a kind of emotional drinker, but he still thinks his friends deserve to hear his feelings towards them. 

“Stop right there” Seungmin interrupts. “We are not going to have a deep conversation now, it is my birthday and I want to have fun!”

Jisung sighs and takes a sip of his beer. Here he is trying to show appreciation, but none of them wants to hear it. Maybe they are not that good of friends after all. 

“Should we do a second round at a club?” Jeongin changes the subject and everyone agrees. Time to go and have some real fun. 

 

The club they chose is one they all have been to before, but it has been a while since Jisung last sat his fot there. His work does not allow for sparetime drinking, and definitely not for being hungover the next day. So when the opportunity to drink comes, he usually takes it. After a few more drinks and shots Jisung is starting to have a lot of fun, or more likely the alcohol is starting to really get to him. He is all over the place, on the dancefloor, dancing with whoever wants to dance. A few dances with Felix and another few with Hyunjin, and a lot of dances with strangers. A few of them even tries to make a move on him but he turns them all down, it just does not feel right. He also sits by the table the other boys have, taking breaks, as well as taking more sips of the drink he bought. He also showers his friends with the love he has for them, the type of love only the alcohol can make Jisung feel. He also attempts to start deep conversations but none of them wants to, and they just push Jisung out on the dancefloor again. It is when he returns to their table after a visit to the restroom that he finds himself being alone. Hyunjin, Felix, Seungmin and Jeongin are nowhere to be seen. Jisung takes a seat and figures he will just wait for them to come back. As Jisung takes a break he suddenly feel the effect that all the drinks he has had has on him. He is a lot more drunk than he thought. The time passes and none of the boys have appeared, and eventually Jisung’s patience runs out, so he send a text to Felix asking where they are. A few minutes later the boy replies with that he has brought Hyunjin home, because apparently he had a bit too much too drink. Jisung sighs, if they were leaving they could at least tell him. With a new drink in his hand Jisung decides to go and search for the other two boys he came with, since he figures they most likely still are around. In the back of the club he spots spots Seungmin and Jeongin fully making out. Jisung stops as he sees them, and quickly turns around, pretending he did not see anything. Out of nowhere Jisung is struck by a feeling he is not sure how to describe. He feels uneasy, his friends has ditched him, yet he would not say that he feels lonely. It is just that he does not want to be alone, almost like he is craving company. It is odd how the feeling came out of the blue, and Jisung can feel how a bit of the happy him slips away and is replaced with that strange feeling. Maybe it is that feeling, or maybe the alcohol in his blood that makes Jisung pick up and call the person whose company he craves the most. 

 

It takes Minho four signals to pick up.

“Hello” Minho says on the other line, his voice sounds tired and Jisung thinks he can hear can hear a muffled yawn. 

“Did I wake you up?” Jisung giggles. “I’m sorry.”

“Are you drunk?” Minho asks, his voice has lost the trace of tiredness it had.

“No, yes, maybe” Jisung continues. The sound of Minho’s voice just makes him feel a lot of happiness bubble up inside of him and turn into a light giggle. “My stupid friends left me at this club.”

“Where are you?” Minho asks and almost before Jisung has the chance to finish answering, Minho says something Jisung does not catch and hangs up. That was not the way the conversation was supposed to go. Jisung sighs, he really wanted to talk to Minho. The feeling from earlier becomes stronger, and for a second he contemplates to go out on the dancefloor again to suppress the odd feeling. Maybe dancing with some stranger will take away the craving of company. As Jisung stands up, he loses balance for a second and has to lean on the table to not fall over. Maybe the dancefloor is not the best idea after all, instead Jisung decides to go outside and get some fresh air. 

 

The night air is chillier than Jisung thought it would be, but it is refreshing. He just stands in the dark street, looking out over what is happening around him, which is not much since it is so late at night. Some boys walk past, laughing and talking loud, clearly intoxicated. A few couples walk past holding hands, and Jisung wishes he also had someone to hold hands with. It had been ages since he got that type of affection from someone, and with the alcohol bringing up his emotional side, it did not make things better. As Jisung looks at the latest couple that walked past, he hears someone call his name behind him. He spins around, a little too fast and loses his balance. Just before he is about to fall he feels someone lift him up, preventing Jisung from hitting the ground. 

“How much have you had to drink?” The person mutters, and Jisung raises his head to see who it is. His eyes meets a face he would describe as very pretty, but familiar. It takes a few seconds, but then Jisung realises it is Minho. 

“Minho!” Jisung says and smiles. What a pleasant surprise, it was just the person Jisung wanted to see.  “What are you doing here?” 

“You called me, saying you were alone at this club” Minho explains and Jisung knows he called Minho, but he does not remember telling him to come. Not that he complains though, because he actually wanted him there. 

“I think it is time for you to go home” Minho says and looks at the mess of a state Jisung is in. 

“No, let’s go and have fun!” Jisung protests, and starts moving around Minho in a wobbly dance. Now that Minho is here the night is saved. The feeling from before has gone, and Jisung just feels happy now that he has gotten the company he wants. Minho just watches Jisung, keeping a straight face. “I want to have fun with you!”

“I think you have had enough fun for tonight” Minho sighs. “Let’s go home.”

Jisung pouts, he does not actually want to go home, but Minho does not look like he is going to change his mind, so he gives in. They start walking, but Minho walks too fast for Jisung to keep up, so Jisung does the only thing he can think of to slow to the older down. Gently he slides his hand into Minho’s, intertwining their fingers. Minho stops for a second at Jisung’s touch, but then pretends to be unbothered by it, like it is something that happen all the time. Jisung smiles for himself, he likes the feeling of Minho’s hand in his. It keeps his own hand warm in the cold night, and it just makes him feel more at ease. He would not mind holding on forever. 

 

_ “Why on earth are we here?” Minho asked as they stood outside of the cinema. It had been Jisung’s idea to go and watch the new horror movie after seeing the trailer online. It would not take a scientist to figure out it is a bad idea. Jisung and Minho were both extremely easily frightened, and they had never made it through the first ten minutes of a scary film.   _

_ “It will be fun!” Jisung said, with too much faked enthusiasm. He was not sure if he was trying to convince himself or Minho at this point that it was going to be fine. It turned out that once the movie started, Jisung regretted the idea. Very much so. The first jumpscare came quickly, resulting in Jisung screaming out loud and hiding his face in his hands. Minho was clearly anxiuos as well, but still laughed at his friend. Jisung hitted him gently on the arm, pretending to be fine, but squints at the screen ready to close his eyes if anything were to happen. That was when Jisung felt something against his hand, and he jumped. _

_ “It’s just me, dummy” Minho whispered, and when Jisung looked down at his hand he saw him locking fingers with Minho’s. The hand was warm, maybe even a little bit too warm, but it did not matter. Just the feeling of being held made things better, even if Minho was clearly scared as well he tried his best not too show it. Jisung on the other hand was terrified, and everytime the screen scared him, he would squeeze Minho’s hand. The further into the film they came, the more Jisung crawled up against Minho. So when the jumpscares came, Jisung could instead of hiding his face in his one free hand, hide it in Minho’s shoulder. When that happened Minho would squeeze Jisung’s hand back, reassuring him everything was okay, and it was. When Minho was there things were okay, because he would protect Jisung at every cost. Even from ghosts on a screen in a cinema. _

**Author's Note:**

> So Minsung. Again. This is a bit different from what i usually write, but I still hope you enjoy it and feedback is much appreciated, thank you :) 
> 
> oh and updates will happen when they do so....


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